Harry Reid: End Legal Prostitution in Nevada
The state of lax morals could soon become a little less sinful -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants to end legalized prostitution in all of Nevada.
Reid, a Democrat, made his proposal during a speech at the state legislature on Tuesday, calling for "an adult conversation" about the legal sex trade in the state. He said if Nevada is serious about attracting businesses, "the time has come for us to outlaw prostitution."
Although the city of Las Vegas forbids it, Nevada is the only state in the nation where prostitution is legal, operating mostly out of brothels. Reid said even keeping them in rural areas hurts the state's economy.
"Nevada needs to be known as the first place for innovation and investment, not as the last place where prostitution is still legal."
As an example, Reid told of a meeting with a group of businessmen in the technology sector who were thinking about moving to the state.
"One of the businessmen in that meeting told me he simply couldn’t believe that one of the biggest businesses in the county he was considering for his new home is legal prostitution," he said.
Brothels have been allowed in Nevada since the middle of the 19th century but were officially licensed in 1971.
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My opinion on prostitution mirrors that of the American comedian George Carlin, who said: "Selling is legal. Fucking is legal. Why isn't selling fucking legal? Why is it illegal to sell something that is perfectly legal to give away for free?"
It is quite rediculous to ban prostitution. There is no way to properly enforce it and banning it would make it worse. It would leave all prostution in the country (it'll continue even if there is a ban) unregulated, which is a breeding ground for STD epidemics.
Europe approaches this issue very pragmatically. In Germany (whose laws on this issue are typical of Western Europe), prostitutes must be atleast 18 years old, be registered with the health department of the state they live in, and must have regular STD screenings. STD infection rates are much much lower in Europe than America (for example, gonerhea rates among American teens are 70x that of the Netherlands, and several times that of Germany and France).
Once again, Europe's secular, pragmatic approach outdoes America's religious, idealistic approach.
I want to outlaw everything that offends me and then make loopholes for me (and those who can afford it)!!!!
How can we go on calling this the land of the free when people want to control every aspect of everyone's life?
Don't forget that ignorance of the law is no excuse and there are so many laws on the book you can't go a day without breaking one -- even if you don't know it.
Maybe, after outlawing it in Nevada, they can declare "war on prostitution" and send armored SWAT teams to break-down doors of "suspects" in the night and shoot them if they get curious about who is breaking down the door.
Trade between consenting adults should be legal in all its forms. The only exception should be when that trade damages a third party in a significant way (assuming symmetrical information and all the other assumptions of free markets etc etc).
There is a case to be made against prostitution as potentially damaging third parties because it often goes hand in hand with actual crime . Personally, I don't think it's a strong case but at least it is up for debate. On the other hand, people who denounce these trades often emphasize imposing their moral notions on fellow citizens as the reason to ban it.
Morally, I don't approve of or condone prostitution. From a strictly freedom point of view, leaning toward being a libertarian, I agree that the government has no business making such laws. BUT...and it's a big, slippery slope but...if it can conclusively be shown that legalized prostitution harms Nevada economically, then there's an interesting choice, isn't there...because then you can argue that it's not a "victimless" crime ...if you declare it a crime...so Reid might have a good point. Although he has no actual say in the matter, since as a member of the US Congress he is a national legislator, not a state lawmaker.